friend

"A friend is more than a therapist or confessor, even though a friend can sometimes heal us and offer us God's forgiveness. A friend is that other person with whom we can share our solitude, our silence, and our prayer. A friend is that other person with whom we can look at a tree and say, "Isn't that beautiful," or sit on the beach and silently watch the sun disappear under the horizon. With a friend we don't have to say or do something special. With a friend we can be still and know that God is there with both of us." — Henri J.M. Nouwen

pinatubo

it's hard to believe that this immaculate scenery was once a stage that showcased earth's violent nature. i'm so glad that nice, jel and i did this trip! till next trekking trip, my pretty nieces!

horcruxes

the second part of harry's quest to destroy voldemort's horcruxes is one fantastic film! thanks to pops, who gave us the free premier night tickets. kumpletos rekados!

azkals

bigong makausad sa third round, pero isang malaking tagumpay pa rin ang ibinigay ng azkals sa bansa. anu't anuman, ito'y hudyat ng lalo pang iigting na bagong pag-ibig ng mga pinoy - futbol! mabigat na kalaban ang mga kuwaiti lalo na nga't pambansang isport sa kanila ang futbol. pero ang nag-iisang goal ni schrock ay sapat na upang umalab ang ating pagka-pinoy... alam nating mas lalo pang gagaling ang ating koponan sa mga darating na panahon! azkals! azkals! azkals!

breivik

"buktot ngunit kinakailangan". ganito inilarawan ni anders breivik ang kahindik-hindik na masaker sa norway nitong nagdaang araw. walo ang namatay dahil sa mga pagpapasabog sa oslo, 69 naman ang nasawi sa utoya at mahigit sa 100 ang nasugatan.

isa sa pinakamaunlad na bansa ang norway sa buong daigdig. palagiang nangunguna sa mga listahang ukol sa kaginhawaan ng buhay, uri ng pamumuhay at kung anu-ano pang mga datos ukol sa ekonomiya't pambansang pananalapi. kaya di gaanong maiisip na mangyayari ang ganitong insidente sa isang progresibong bansa. mabilis naman ang galamay ng batas sa kanila, kaya't nasakote agad ang sinasabi nilang maysala.

kapayapaan para sa mga nasawi't kani-kanilang mga naiwan.

sona

unang taon ni p-noy sa puwesto, pangalawang ulat sa bayan. marami nang eksperto ang pumuna at pumalakpak sa laman ng kanyang talumpati, ngunit para sa akin, isang buwisadong simpleng empleyado, ilang mga bagay ang haylayt at lowlayts nito. eto:

1. di ako fan ng kanyang alegorya sa wang-wang bilang simbulo ng mga nang-aabuso sa bayan. pero sapat itong mensahe upang alisin sa utak ng mga nanunungkulan na di sila sakop ng batas at mawaksi sa mga kukote nila na ligtas sila sa parusa. ngunit sa susunod na taon, dapat wala na ang wang-wang sa kanyang talumpati... nakakatorete na rin.

2. banggit ng mga buwisit na pandarambong sa pera ng bayan, lalo na 'yung pagbili ng mga helikopter sa presyong brand new, katakut-takot na mga bonuses sa mga bosses sa GOCCs at gastos sa kape na umabot ng isang bilyon! pati na rin ang mga nandaraya sa kanilang mga buwis ay dapat ngang habulin ng BIR. upang masawata ang walang habas na paggasta ng mga ahensya ng gobyerno, naghigpit ng sinturon ang pangasiwaan ni aquino magmula pa 2010. pinigilan ang mga maanomalyang proyekto at binusisi ng husto ang bawat pagkakagastusan, lalo na 'yung may kinalaman sa bigas. pagtutok sa mga lugar na gaya ng ARMM, ang pinakamahirap na lugar sa buong bansa ay ok din.

3. mas gusto ko sanang buong pagkalalaki niyang idiniin ang soberanya ng pilipinas sa spratlys, ngunit ayaw din naman nating lumikha ito ng higit na problemang diplomatiko.

4. pero dapat na rin niyang itigil ang mga panakip-butas na proyektong tulad ng pantawid pamilyang pilipino. di nito naaayunan ang pangmatagalang proyekto laban sa kahirapan.

5. tagal nang suliranin ang transportasyon sa bansa, sana nga'y maisakatuparan ang monorail project sa loob ng kanyang administrasyon.

6. ang mapanagot sa katiwalian ang lahat, maging ang nakaraang pangulo, ay una at moral na tungkulin ni p-noy sa mamamayan. sang-ayon ako sa pagtatalaga kay justice conchita carpio-morales bilang bagong tanod-bayan. mukhang di siya magiging tauhan ng malacanang, di tulad ng inutil na si merceditas gutierrez at tiyak na maipapanalo ang mga kasong isasampa sa mga tiwaling opisyal. tama rin siya na kapag hinayaan nating malaya ang mga buktot na indibidwal, hinahayaan din nating lumawak ang galamay ng kasamaan sa lipunan.

7. walang anumang banggit sa freedom of information bill, reproductive health bill at divorce bill. sadya niya yatang iniwasan ang mga isyung ito na naghahati sa bansa. ngunit kailangan pa rin itong dinggin at pagpasyahan. nakasalalay sa mga panukalang ito di lamang ang katiwalian kundi ang kinabukasan ng bayan.

8. walang konkretong binanggit ang pangulo hinggil sa mga OFWs. di rin ganoon kalinaw ang programa ni p-noy hinggil sa kalikasan at pagpapaunlad ng IT sa bansa at kung paanong maitatawid ng mga mahihirap na pamilya ang kanyang programang K-12 sa pampublikong edukasyon.

9. bagamat pumunta siya sa paksa ng negatibismo, parang kulang sa "pagbibigay-inspirasyon" ang talumpati. dahil na rin siguro sa mga hirit sa nakaraang administrasyon, ang talumpati niya ay mas marami sa kung ano ang kanyang inatupag - maglinis at mag-impis ng mga kalat ni gloria. sa gayon, mailagay niya ang lahat ng kailangan upang magsimula ng kanyang mga proyekto.

10. sa kanyang 2012 sona, di na maaaring puro banat ulit kay gloria. kailangan ng konktretong mga proyekto at programa sa maraming sektor ng pamumuhay sa pilipinas. ang unibersal na healthcare at pagpapabuti ng edukasyon sa bansa ang dapat unahin. isang taon pa nga lang ang lumipas kaya't walang rason ang mga kritikong punahin ang sabi nila'y "kawalan ng mga nagawa ni p-noy" ito ang hamon sa kanya sa mga susunod niyang ulat sa bayan.

coling

kahit na may banta pa sa buhay mo o may pinangangalagaan kang pamilya, natural na gawi ng isang babaing biktima ng karahasang sekswal na humingi ng tulong sa kinauukulan. maaaring maantala ang pagpunta sa husgado dahil sa ibang mga sirkumstansya ngunit di kasama rito ang paglantad at pagpapa-interbyu sa isang palabas na balitaktakang showbiz. at malungkot mang isipin, ito ang ginawa ni amanda coling.

bulung-bulungan daw sa showbiz na may ginang-rape umano ang ilang mga miyembro ng azkals. sangkot dito sina simon greatwich, anton del rosario, neil etheridge at jason sabio. di pa agad pinangalan ang babaing biktima umano at nadamay pa nga si michelle madrigal. hanggang sa nagpa-interbyu na nga itong si amanda coling. bagamat wala siyang tuwirang inamin kay pia guanio, inilahad naman ng kanyang abugado kay tito boy na may "nangyari" nga noong a-dos ng hunyo. kung ano ang nangyaring ito, di raw maaaring sabihin ni amanda at ng kanyang abugado.

dahil sa inaasal ni amanda, di maaalis sa isipan ng mga tao ang mga kuro-kuro tungkol sa kung nga ba talaga ang nangyari? may panggagahasa nga bang nangyari? o ito'y isang kaso lamang ng maikling relasyong sekswal na ang dalawang partido ay wala sa magkaparehong dimensyon? ayon kay coling, lumantad lamang siya dahil pinangalanan na siya at nawalan siya ng trabaho dahil sa eskandalong ito. sinusuportahan pa rin daw niya ang mga azkals at wala siyang anumang balak laban sa mga ito. ni magsampa ng kaso ay wala pa raw sa kanyang isipan kahit na kumuha na siya ng abugado. bagamat wala pang pag-amin kung may panggagahasa nga bang naganap, may patikim ng mga bagay na kabunyag-bunyag sa parte ni amanda. ginagawa nga kaya niya ito upang magkapangalan lamang? lalo na nga't sa panahong ito, ang pagiging kontrobersyal ang pinakamabilis na paraan upang sumikat kahit sumandali at magkaroon ng instant na trabaho habang mainit pa ang pangalan at ang isyung kinasasangkutan. sa kanyang pagpapa-interbyu, di kaya nito malagay sa peligro ang anumang kasong maaari niyang isampa sa mga susunod na araw?

kung may di makatarungang bagay na ginawa sa iyo, dapat mong ipagtanggol ang sarili mo sa tamang lunan sa lalong madaling panahon. kung wala namang krimeng naganap, sabihin agad sa publiko ang katotohanan... hindi 'yung magdadrama pa upang mapag-usapan lamang.

transformers

libre ang tiket namin ni arms sa primyir ng transformers: dark of the moon. salamat kay ate pops at libre ang tiket. kung hindi, di ko pag-aaksayahan ng pera't panahong panoorin ito.

bagamat hitik ang pelikula sa aksyon, butata ng maiigting na mga eksena at pasable ang mga special effects, ubod ito ng kahangalan. napakanipis ng banghay ng istorya nito at umuulan ng mga tunggak na mga linyang gaya ng palitang ito:

sam witwicky: i love you. you're the only thing i need in this world and i'll do anything to make it up to you. i promise.
carly spencer: i'm going to hold you to that. just never let me go.

parang batang pinagkaitan lang ng laruan o di isinali sa larong-kalye ang karakter ni shia labeouf. di ko mawari kung may sakit ba siya sa pag-iisip (attention deficit disorder) o sadyang ito na ang pinakamahusay niyang karakterisasyon sa isang lalaking di makasumpong ng mahusay na trabaho. inalis na rin siya dapat tulad ni megan fox at pinalitan ng ibang aktor na higit na may lalim sa pag-arte. sa kabilang banda, mas maigi pa yatang pinanatili na lang si megan fox sa pangatlong pagkakataon, kaysa sa ipinalit sa kanyang si rosie huntington-whiteley. ang carly ni huntington ay parang nasa patalastas lang ng sapatos sa telebisyon - walang anumang damdamin ang kanyang mukha kahit na nagkandawasak na ang buong chicago sa paligid niya. gusto ko sa babae ang bahagyang makapal na labi. pero sa pelikulang ito, nayamot ako sa nguso ni rosie dahil parang ito lang ang may buhay sa buong katawan niya. sa klaymax, may mga eksenang naka-high heels siya, tapos sa magkasunod na frame, naka-flat shoes naman... di yata nila tiningnan ang tamang pagkakasunud-sunod ng mga eksena. walang kalatuy-latoy ang mga karakter sa pelikulang ito, maging si patrick dempsey na bigo sa pagiging kontrabida at frances mcdormand na naging katatawanan lamang. halatang nanood ng lord of the rings at harry potter si michael bay dahil tila naging sina gollum at mga death eaters lang ni voldemort ang mga kasapakat ni megatron. habang si megatron naman ay parang naging si sauron at voldemort sa pagkilos at boses nito.

kulang sa tamang dosis ng konflik at drama ang transformers. puro ingay at walang patumanggang destruksyon lamang ang inihain nito. 'wag na sana silang umulit pa at ilagay nang muli sa kahon ang mga robot.

lintang

tulad ng mga kabuteng bigla na lang sumusulpot tuwing may ulan, lumitaw si lintang bedol pagkatapos ng higit sa 2 taon na pagtatago. si bedol ang tumayong bisor ng eleksyon sa lungsod ng cotabato, kung saan tinambakan ng kampo ni gloria ang oposisyon noong 2007. maanomalya ang resulta ng halalan dito, lalo na ang bilangan ng mga boto. may mga patunay ng katiwalian, pinakamatindi na rito ang 12-0 pagpapataob ng senador na tumakbo sa hanay ni gloria sa mga taga-oposisyon. bukod pa ito sa di mabilang na mga balota at election returns na iisa lamang ang nagsipagsulat at walang kawawaang bilihan ng boto.

di lahat ng umuusbong na kabute ay maaaring pakinabangan, ibayong ingat ang kailangan upang masino ang may saysay mula sa lason lamang ang dala. ganito rin si bedol. di pa matiyak kung bakit bigla itong lumitaw. pakawala ba siya ng mga ampatuan upang malihis ang atensyon sa mabagal na ngang usad ng kaso ng masaker sa mga ito? o di kaya'y may di napagkasunduang kita sa pagitan nila ni virgilio garcillano kaya't isisiwalat na ang anumang nalalaman sa dayaan sa eleksyon? wala pang makapagsasabi kung nagsasabi at magsasabi ng totoo si bedol. ito'y kahit na nga may ilan pang mga opisyal na nagpapatunay sa mga binitiwang pahayag na bedol na may nangyari ngang dayaan noong mayo 2007. at dahil sa mga isisiwalat ni bedol, maaari rin nitong muling buksan ang usapan hinggil sa dayaan noong 2004 sa pagitan ni gloria mismo at ng yumaong fpj.

iimbestigahan na nga raw ito sa kongreso. sana'y di ito ito maging isang sirkus lamang tulad ng mga nagdaang pagdinig sa senado at sa mababang kapulungan. bagamat di na maibabalik pa ang panahon, sa pamamagitan ng masusing paghawak at pagdinig sa usaping ito, maaaring masampahan ng kaso ang mga maysala sa likod ng karumal-dumal at malawakang dayaan sa mga nagdaang eleksyon. ang mapanagot sa batas ang mga indibwal o pamilyang ubod ng kapal ang mukha't walang anumang bahid ng kaba sa panlalamang sa kapwa ang isa sa magiging pamana ng pangasiwaan ni noynoy. sa pamamagitan nito, mababawasan ang kultura ng katiwalian at hari-harian ng iilan at titimo sa isipan ng bagong henerasyon na may pag-asa pa ngang matatawag sa pilipinas.

cemetery

while it's too american compared to trainspotting, the humor and how the coming of age tale of three friends (bruce, snork and freddie) was meshed out made cemetery junction (written and directed by ricky gervais and stephen merchant) an enjoyable trip to 1970s smalltown britain. the 70s are completely foreign to me, with snippets of its glory days only learned from my family, movies and history books. while the philippines was busy trying to eject marcos out of malacanang, rural folks' aim of making it big in the big city was altogether a common theme across countries.

in cemetery junction, three young working class friends fritter time through joking, boozing, fighting and chasing girls. but freddie (christian cooke), with his aim of leaving his working class roots, soon found a job as an insurance agent. bruce (tom hughes) is content working in a factory, having a dysfunctional relationship with his alcoholic father and spending a lot of time in the local police station after several fistfights. snork (jack doolan) is happy waiting to take over as the train station's main announcer, while also holding back on any relationship with a girl in the local pub. freddie works for mr. kendrick (ralph fiennes), who's married to mrs. kendrick (emily watson). their daughter, julie (felicity jones) is engaged to mike ramsay (matthew goode), one of the topshots in the kendrick insurance empire. freddie and julie developed an interesting connection, while both struggle with own issues - freddie could not close an insurance deal, while julie could not pursue her aim of becoming a photographer and enjoy the swingin 70s due to the traditional role of women.

what works for this movie is the understated tone of the harshness of everyday life in a dreary rural town… of course, this would depend on your social class. the movie dealt with serious subjects as social class, collapse of family, ambition, regret, women's role in society and even economics. but all of these were discussed in restrained tempo, eschewed from melodrama of your typical pinoy movies. tom and his father clearly had issues to resolve but tom projected coolness and subtlety when finally learning of why his dad drinks. the choice of tom to stay behind reading and continue to live with his dad was moving but not dramatic, as one might expect from a typical hollywood film. after completely being dismissed as "just a wife and not a partner", one could immediately sense that mrs. kendrick would have her "standing up against her husband" scene. and she did. but she did so without theatrics, with the fine emily watson shunning over-the-top acting. of course, it was already suggested that julie would have "followed her heart" and leave reading with freddie. but this was tackled in an unassuming manner that anyone would root for freddie to win over mike.

it had the right mix of drama and comedy, had good pacing and was armed with great music. the overall energetic vibe of the 70s was carried through, thanks to the delightful trio of relative unknowns, christian cooke, tom hughes and jack doolan, as well as the support of established actors such as the very effective ralph fiennes and emily watson. it was funny and touching, ultimately saying that looking back to a bygone era should not be loaded with resentment. cemetery junction is clearly an enjoyable feel good movie. be young, be free and be somebody!

Poliakoff

with no major tennis tourney yet and having no interest on nightly dramas on local TV, hbo once again was the perfect choice… on it was stephen poliakoff's capturing mary, starring maggie smith.

eerie, terrifying and haunting, the film follows mary gilbert's (maggie smith) look back at her lost youth, with memories shared to joe (danny lee wynter), the now-caretaker of elliott graham's grand mansion. as she steps into the house and move from room to room, recollection of storied events that had happened in the house were recounted to joe. mary used to be somewhat of a controversial writer, part of the society's elite, with her explosive (in the fifties and sixties) writings on sex and women empowerment. everything was going well for the young mary (ruth wilson), until she encounters deeply evil man known as greville white (david walliams) in one of the soirees in the 'house'. greville was a social climber whose connections reached into high society. he befriended mary, telling her about shady secrets of the british establishment, which included child abuse, sexual perversion, anti-semitism, and racism, among others. mary soon realized that greville is of shadowy character, with overt suggestions of malevolent might and she rejected him. with greville's connection and influence among the newspaper editors, mary's career was destroyed. what followed was mary's downward spiral to years of depression and alcoholism. towards the end of the film, it was revealed that mary met greville in kensington park before going to the mansion. the evil greville did not age since they saw each other in the 1950s. mary then left the house, with joe asking her to meet again. she obliged and they saw each other in kensington gardens. mary then asked joe to leave, saying that she will be alright.

one might see the film as having supernatural undertone due to the seemingly unexplainable effect of greville over mary. but in essence, it is about a woman's struggle in a period when women's liberation movement was still at its infancy stage. mary wanted to free herself from her working class roots but was hindered by the still ongoing fifties way of treating women. after just a few years, the cultural disdain on women's liberation, as represented by greville, would be obsolete. in the end, what mary badly needed was a closure and making peace with her past and joe, of african-american descent, was the unlikely instrument.

capturing mary is a thought-provoking film that would definitely make you ask, "why did she allow that to happen to herself?". but as poliakoff explains, "her despair is to do with what she wanted to become but never did. as age consumes us, there are moments like that for all of us." all details were enmeshed beautifully and the characters were all well-written.

maggie smith is usually seen as a figure of authority, either as an aged but firm headmistress minerva mcgonagall in harry potter series or a judgmental stoic elder sister to judi dench's ursula in ladies in lavender. she has played snob countess in gosford park and as the bossy and dowager-like lady hester random in tea with mussolini. but in capturing mary, dame maggie was at her brilliant fragility, her eyes showed elderly irresolute stance while trying to make peace with her youth's missteps and moving on while at her twilight years. she maintained a sense of english bearing but at the same time was exceptionally effective in conveying the character's vulnerability and exposed feebleness. she truly is one of britain's treasured thespians.

kinabalu

what do you do when your flight was diverted to another foreign city and you don't have enough time to actually look around and see the place?! snap some pics and walk around the area where your hotel is! we tried to go to kota kinabalu's city center but the flight was initially scheduled at 11 am, so we didn't have much time. when we came back to the hotel, we were adviced that the flight was moved to 2 pm. oh well... we should've taken the risk of hopping to a local bus to get to KK's city center.

falcon

after the asean directions 2011 in KL, we were supposed to be back in manila in june 24th. we were booked for the 5 pm flight, and we were supposed to be in manila at around 9 pm. the flight from KL was one of the worst flights i've ever had, not because i had an annoying seatmate (i was actually occupying 3 seats!), but because of clear air turbulence, especially upon entering luzon.

at that time, we were already adviced that tropical storm falcon intensified and was dumping torrential rains across luzon. still, our flight got to naia around 9 pm. karen and i were still having a hearty chat, as we knew that the crew was trying their best to land safely. but to our horror, the plane was jolted by heavy rains and strong winds and we could not land. we then flew again at a higher altitude, towards clark i think. in about 30 minutes, i was just waiting for the announcement that our flight will be diverted to any of the philippine cities in the visayas. at that point, i was already pretty sure that we won't be able to land due to the inclement weather. but to everyone's surprise, we were diverted to kota kinabalu... to think that we have international airports in cebu, iloilo and bacolod. no choice at all, we then landed in kota kinabalu international airport. the captain explained that we could not land in naia even if we already saw the runway. a huge windshield was preventing the plane from landing safely and the crew did not have any choice but to divert. otherwise, catastrophe might have struck. behind us, there were about 25 flights also waiting for their turn to land, but were soon diverted as well. we spent a night in kota kinabalu, then took the 2 pm flight to manila. at about 5 pm, we finally landed in manila. it was still cloudy (as shown in the photos) and some areas still had scattered rains, but thank God, we landed safely.

agassi-graf

i got hooked on tennis back in late 1996.

i was a UP diliman-orgless freshie, so i naturally hang out in one of the best cribs in the campus - UP main library. not because i am (or was) a studious one, but i was in the lib most of the time because most of my blockmates were almost always there! hehehehe! (go block N1!) seriously, i always go there to read newspapers. i got this thing with dailies from my father, who'd always have inquirer or any tabloid every morning. and in UP main lib's periodicals section, you practically have all available broadsheets plus a host of veritable tabloids, not to mention, local magazines and some other foreign publications in the general reference section.

one of those main lib trips introduced me to tennis, when i saw the news of andre agassi losing to michael chang in the 1996 US open semis and steffi graf dispatching a young martina hingis in the semis. chang went on to lose to pete sampras in the finals, while graf defeated no. 2 monica seles in the women's singles finals. after that, i was instantly captivated by the distinctiveness of the game - one player against another, all by themselves; no on-court coaching; traditions brought on from another century; interesting scoring; different surfaces; meltdowns and high resolve; moonballers and power hitters; slice, lob, volley; baseliners and serve & volleyers; umpires and linespersons; compelling rivalries and on/offcourt dramas and of course, colorful personalities and great champions. at that point, agassi was more of a colorful personality due to his marriage to brooke shields, although he already won 3 grand slam titles. graf was another thing - she dominated the women's game for the greater part of the 90s, winning 13 grand slam titles and silencing even her biggest rival, seles.

religiously, i followed the scores. i began to buy tennis magazines from that magazine store (between a barber shop and t-shirt store) in the shopping center, as well as revisit microfilmed articles back when graf was just starting to dominate the tennis scene. internet was at its measly provision at that time, so this wasn't included in my routine. 1997 was a bad year for both agassi and graf - agassi falling to 141 in the rankings and graf failing to win a grand slam title for the first time in 10 years. in late 1998, we got our cable TV connection (wahahahaha!), which brought me closer to grand slam matches. i saw steffi graf battle her way to the french open title, while also seeing her lose that year's wimbledon final to lindsay davenport. almost all those times, the remote control was on me! sadly, steffi waved goodbye to the tennis world in august 1999. but agassi went on to play, winning 4 more grand slam titles till 2003. i still remember the 1999 wimbledon final, which agassi lost to sampras in straight sets, but he rebounded to win the US open against todd martin.

my love affair with tennis began with agassi and graf. who would have thought that in 1999, they would both win roland garros, lose wimbledon final and started dating! they got married in 2001 and welcomed 2 kids in the following 2 years. in 2004, graf was inducted to the international tennis hall of fame. an exceptional champion, graf won every major tourney at least 4 times and achieved the golden slam in 1988, when she won all 4 grand slam titles and the gold medal at the seoul olympics. and today, agassi was finally inducted in the hall of fame. he won 8 grand slam titles and is one of only 7 (the other 6: perry, budge, emerson, laver, federer, nadal) players to have won a career slam (all 4 majors at least once in their career).

i haven't touched a racket since my UP days and i always believe that tennis is best played, not watched. but with the new breed of exceptional champions such as nadal and federer, as well as the re-emergence of clijsters and sharapova, tennis will always be my beautiful sport... thanks to graf and agassi! as billie jean king said, "tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquility."